www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Afternoon all...

I'm turning to you guys for information after a potentially very unusual sighting last week.

I'm a fairly competent butterfly ID'er(?) although by no means an expert but i'm having a crisis of confidence after seeing what i'm sure were a fair few Queen of Spain fritillaries at the southern tip of Kintyre, SW Scotland....! I was out working on a fairly small heathland-dominated site during glorious sunshine last week and had already noted a good amount of small pearl-bordered frits when i noticed this other species which i assumed was a QOS. I managed to get a few good sightings, including watching one at rest with wings closed revealing the large white patches and several others atop thistles etc. (no photos....sorry!!!). However, since returnign to the office and researching the QOS further, i now realise how rare it is!!! (no records in scotland?). In spite of this, the various pictures online seem to point to QOS and nothing else.

Does anyone know of any records for Scotland/kintyre or what else this may have been? Aside from the patterned underwing, there was the also the whitish trim and jaggedy edge to the hind wing shown in a number of pictures. The site also seems to satisfy the species' habitat requirements with violet species present throughout.

Any help would be greatly received. Cheers

Jon

How did the size compare with the small pearl-bordered fritillaries?

Did you notice the shade of underside colour the white patches were set in?

Queen of Spain is a small fritillary, the first brood being even smaller than small pearl-bordered and later broods slightly, but not terribly much, larger. They never strike one as being a 'large' fritillary. The obvious thing to rule out as soon as possible is dark green fritillary, which has a characteristically dull upperside in Scotland and is invariably much larger.

Queens of Spain do fly in Norway, but an isolated sighting in the south-west of Scotland would seem to indicate a different origin. The species is extremely rare in the south of England, with fewer than 300 seen between 1850 and 1990 according to Emmet and Heath, 'spread fairly evenly along the south coast from Kent to Cornwall'. Since then there have been a few years of relative abundance, notably 1997, I think. Queens of Spain have been extremely common this year in Switzerland, flying continuously since January, and if that has been replicated elsewhere we would expect a few immigrants to the UK.

Very interesting!!

Guy

Cheers Guy...

It definitely wasn't a dark green fritillary - there was no greenish hue and it was notably smaller. The white patches were set into a brownish background as far as i can remember although I can't be sure, there there was certainly nothing striking about the underwing background... It was larger than the SPB in the area and seemed to have a more vibrant orange colouring. I'm kicking myself that i didn't manage a photo - it was on a fairly steep hillside and was not playing ball...!

Thanks again,
Jon

If they really looked like Queen of Spain, then I would suggest it is imperative you go back there and get some piccies!! A net would help to secure this, but if you have no net and can't get photographs, then detailed field notes, including sketches, and photographs of the locality, are vital for a record to be accepted.

I'll gladly write you a sick-note if you need to get off work (but it sounds as though your work took you to the site in the first place)!

Guy